MBTA follow-up

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I got a call yesterday in response to the call I put in on Monday to the MBTA. A message was left for me on my answering machine (which I requested in the event that I could not answer the call) saying that the service providers had been made aware of the problem of adherence to the schedule and they were working on it, but he did not know how long it would take for any resolution. I called back today and told the woman answering the phone about the situation and that I wanted to be notified when some conclusion was reached about how this would be prevented in the future. She thought I meant that I wanted the 89 to run more than hourly, which, though it would be nice, was not exactly what I was asking for; what I was asking for was for this kind of situation to be resolved in the future by taking a bus that runs far more frequently in the event of another 89 mechanical issue, particularly in the midst of a snowstorm (did I mention seeing 4 87s in the time I was waiting?). (Also--the 89 is often 20 or 30 minutes late, or more, particularly on weekends. Is it *always* mechanical failure?) I was told that mechanical failures can not be avoided, and that it would have taken another hour to get another bus leaving from Charlestown (nonsense, the bus ride from Sullivan to Davis is something like half an hour *with* *stops*). I asked why a different bus could not be diverted, and she said there were not buses laying in wait (which was not an answer) and that they just didn't have the resources. I told her nonsense, there were many resources, folks just had to prioritize what to use them for, and keeping *many* people waiting an *extra* hour on top of the usual wait for an hourly bus, in the midst of a snowstorm, wasted *many* hours collectively and was simply not acceptable. She told me she would relay my message. I asked her if anyone was going to take this seriously, or would the answer still be, when (if) it winds up making its way back to me, that they don't have the resources. She said she thought so. I credit her for honesty, but I am still rather irritated.

On a related note, someone struck up a conversation with me about the 86 that was late some Thursday evening a few weeks back while we were waiting for it (ok, it was more like a monologue, but not an uninteresting one) and all he went through to try to get that addressed. He mentioned a bus driver, btw, who said "this is for people like you" as he showed him his tattoo on his arm with his bus driver number when the person talking to me asked for it. When he complained, he was told action would be taken, but he was never told what action *was* taken). Have others been threatened or intimidated this way by bus drivers? He also told me bus drivers make $80,000 a year. I am wondering how I would verify that. Anyone hear that, too? Know how to find out? I'm kind of curious now. If it is true, I guess I am kind of confused about how the excuse of "there are not enough resources for us to do our jobs" can fly. Is it possible that they can be paid per successful ride? (And by successful, I mean on time or close to it, not an our late, not even 15 minutes late.) Any thoughts welcome.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I don't understand how a tattoo could be intimidating or threatening, especially if it's just an employee ID.

[808.livejournal.com]

I agree. From the way it is described here I didn't take it as a threat but as a smart aleck way of giving the information and also showing off a tat. I work in astronomy, and I've often thought about getting one of my favorite star fields tatoo'd on my arm so when people ask me what I do specifically (happens ALL the time), I can just point and say "I stare at this every night." (which is not that far from the truth)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

(see below response?)

[808.livejournal.com]

Yeah that extra info makes it more menacing, I agree. The nice part of the story is it will be VERY easy for the T to investigate. All they need to do is see if the driver really has such a tat. :) If he/she does, then they obviously displayed it.

Also, they could check the camera. Many (most?all?) buses have cameras now. My wife lost an iphone a month ago on the 66. I called and told them the specific bus number it was lost on and at what stop (I got the bus number from the schedule). They were able to look at the video from the bus and see someone pick it up! Happily, that evening the person who picked it up freely called us and gave it back.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Pushed in someone's face with the words "this is for people like you" spoken in a tone intentionally trying to be intimidating? Really? Even if the guy was bigger than you? You don't see how that could be intimidating? Even if they take you to a stop that happens to be right in front of where you live? Wouldn't feel a need to wait for the bus to leave before you enter so they didn't know where you lived?

Wow, Ron. Pretty fearless.

I would myself have preferred to laugh in his face had it been me, but if he ever drove me again, I might be a bit nervous, especially if I didn't actually hear word back on what the penalty for this one is. If there wasn't one (like I said, he never heard back), he could do much more than that with relative impunity. Clearly the guy did not care for riders, particularly those who complained, and may as well have posted "I have issues and derive satisfaction from being intimidating" on his forhead.

[ron_newman]

Well, you've added some information not in the original post. The image I had in my mind was just the driver rolling up his sleeve and pointing to the tattoo.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

My apologies for not being clear and adding enough detail.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Well, this is Boston (and vicinity) we're talking about. :-) Most people around here are pretty tough and not easily intimidated by stuff like that. So it's reasonable to think that the guy was just being your typical (non-yuppie) Bostonian.

I realize that many people aren't used to that kind of thing, so it's also reasonable for your friend to take it badly and want to let the MBTA know.

At least your friend didn't get arrested when they tried to get the driver's number, the way I did. (They charged me with "interfering with a public servant" or something, and assault and battery, I think, claiming that I was trying to hit the guy, even though I most definitely wasn't!) He'd done some lovely road raging with his bus while I was driving my bike, and he tried to scare me off the road by honking and riding just a few feet off my rear wheel. So when he stopped to pick up passengers I got on and asked for his name so that I could report him. But before I realized what happened, there were two cops dragging me off the bus and throwing me on the ground face first. Now THAT's intimidating. :-)

Thankfully the judge, while totally ignorant of the law saying that bicycles belong on the roads (and that it's illegal in the city of Boston to bike on the sidewalk), at least dismissed the case saying that it was totally silly that some tiny woman like me was at all threatening and realized that the driver of the bus had been behaving horribly).

But yeah, the MBTA is kind of run by folks who probably would have run the Mafia, but went into something slightly more "legitimate". :-)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Do you happen to know if there was any punishment for the bus driver who was "behaving horribly", according to the judge, or the cops who pulled you off and threw you to the ground face first? I'm guessing the answer is no, or that you don't know, but I'd be happy to be mistaken. Argh. How annoying.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I really hope not! More harm certainly is going to make things worse. That's the last thing any of us need!

But I do hope that it gave them pause to think. And I hope that my efforts when I was working at MassBike, especially the police bicycle awareness curriculum that I helped create and teach to police officers, gave them a more positive, inspiring view of taking care of public safety, by being aware of who bicyclists are, what they want to do, and what the real dangers are out there on the roads.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I agree that more harm is going to make matters worse. You know. Like the next time a bus driver decides to harass a cyclist and 2 cops slam her down on the pavement face first. I don't revel in causing anyone harm, but if I had to choose between a tiny woman such as yourself (no idea what your size is, I'll take your word for it), I'm going to side with and feel compassion for her, particularly if she walks away more damaged by it then it appears you did. I'm confused that you feel differently, but it's nice of you to try to empathize with the bus driver--I can certainly see how it could be a stressful job.

It's not about "empathy" it's about effectiveness of solutions.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I know this isn't what we're taught by the mainstream media, so it might come as a surprise, but ultimately it doesn't matter who you empathize with or who's "side" you pick. (We're all in this together! We're all struggling just the same, just trying to have a decent life, trying to make the best of what we've inherited through nature and nurture...) What matters ultimately is, is the problem going to be solved or not? Threatening and harming people makes them sicker, guaranteed. Violence/bullying/punishment/harm/threats is a dead end approach. Helping people heal, so that they can feel good about themselves and the world around them, on the other hand, will make them better people, pretty much guaranteed. :-)

Thus, the logical, AND empathetic solution is a healing, positive, understanding approach. And the most effective way to do that, from my research, is to focus on the baseline "deficiency needs" that Maslow identified in his hierarchy of needs as being absolutely required before a person can be pro-social (self-transcendent, which means caring about others at least as much as oneself). Maslow identified four crucial needs to be mentally healthy:

Physiological inputs (high quality food, water, air, warmth, sunlight)

Safety/output needs (the freedom to express one's excess matter and energy)

Belongingness needs (being a welcome part of a couple or family that works together to successfully get everyone's input and output needs met

Effectiveness/Esteem needs (having one's efforts/work be appreciated by close friends/family)

And since the vast majority of people are lacking in many of these things constantly, it's logical to expect that people will be sick (deficient/toxic), and need help in healing.

So now maybe you can see why I have a different approach to solving my problems than wanting to hurt/harm/threaten/bully/punish someone who was clearly mentally ill.

Re: It's not about "empathy" it's about effectiveness of solutions.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Thank you for taking the time and care to write out a very thoughtful response. Ultimately, I agree that we are in this together. I also agree that threatening and harming people can make them sicker. I am not convinced that the potential for punishment is a dead end, though. In a more ideal world, I would like it to not be anything but a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted, however, I would also not like to see another biker harassed that way (harassment like that actually caused me to fall off of my bike many years ago and is part of why I am nervous to ride on the streets in this area) or thrown down on the pavement face first when they go to confront the harasser.

I see you thinking of the bus driver, and what you are saying is, in fact, impressive and enlightened in a number of ways. I can guarantee you that this is not going to happen overnight, however, and even if you feel you made the best decision for *you* (and you may well have), what is going to stop this bus driver from behaving in this manner toward another biker? What if he actually causes an accident next time? And, for that matter, why are the police not being help accountable for throwing an tiny, *un-armed* (I assume?) woman face first into the pavement? How would you feel if this happened to another person who was not you and who was unable to walk away from it as easily due to damage *they* took, while we patiently wait for the bus driver to get all of his needs met, heal, and come to his senses?

To be clear, I am not saying this to hear myself speak (er, write:), I truly am curious about your response to it. Feel free to disagree, it is obviously and justifiably your right to do so. You don't strike me as dumb or thoughtless in any way, though, so I am wondering--did you actually think of this and you still maintain your position, or did it not occur to you? Or something else? Please don't feel like you are in any way obligated to respond, but I am curious about your take on this and welcome one if you are in the space for it.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I had that bus driver on the 77 a few weeks ago. It was crowded (bus bunching) and he was unwilling to wait the two-three seconds it took for me to get past the people by the door, and when several people yelled at him that I was still trying to get off (I was a little bulkier for having my baby with me) he yelled at ME, and when I asked for his badge #, he, in a very nasty tone of voice told me off and showed me his tattoo. I definitely called and complained, but was basically told there wasn't much they could do. It was totally inappropriate behavior though.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I would like everyone to see this; could I have permission to repost this in its own entry? I could take your lj name off of it if you want. Let me know?

[gingicat]

A tattooed arm with a number? I'd find that VERY triggery.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I would also find a number tattooed on an arm to be awfully disturbing...but I wouldn't regard the bearer of the tattoo as a threat. I'd see him or her as horribly victimized, or appallingly clueless.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I see him as feeling more like a Jew/Gay/whatever in Nazi Germany. Kind of forced to do this job and nor feeling like he has any freedom. I can't imagine how much it would suck to have to deal with the public, especially when they are packed together like battery cage chickens, all the time. It's not like he probably feels like he could quit, especially these days with it being nearly impossible to get a decent job unless you have major connections.

So yeah, I feel sorry for him more than anyone. He can't leave. At least passengers can (though that sucks too, of course).

[808.livejournal.com]

>I asked why a different bus could not be diverted, and she said there were >not buses laying in wait (which was not an answer) and that they just didn't >have the resources. I told her nonsense, there were many resources, folks >just had to prioritize what to use them for, and keeping *many* people >waiting an *extra* hour on top of the usual wait for an hourly bus, in the >midst of a snowstorm, wasted *many* hours collectively and was simply not >acceptable.

I *fully* appreciate what you are trying to do and applaud you for having the guts and PATIENCE to cut through the bureaucracy to get an answer. I also thank you for taking the time to update DSLJ. I live in Watertown and have a similar issue with the 71 vs. 73 and my dealings with their IT department over charlie card issues almost had me nuclear a few months ago.

But, to be fully honest, I don't agree with the part of your post I quoted above. I think she did give an appropriate answer by saying there was no idle bus. Unless you work at the T, you are making a big assumption that they have idle buses waiting around for emergencies. Maybe they should. But you can't assume that. With the budget cuts lately I would be surprised if there is any room in the system for even the slightest deviation from norm. The amount of money it takes to prepare for deviations does not scale linearly. Having one bus idle is not just 1/X (where X is total number of buses the T has). It's a lot more. I agree that a professional and large system like hours should have it, but I would never assume it does.

In general, I find it acceptable and even important to express how you feel at a strategic level. But I don't think it is ever fair to tell people how to do their job. You just don't know how things work and, from the outside, we always take an oversimplified point of view. The MBTA needs to know that people were left waiting and that it really pissed you off so they can adjust resources. But requiring specific actions is a waste of time and a little unfair. The system is just too complicated.

[veek.livejournal.com]

I don't think the OP's question to the operator was about buses lying in wait. It was about diverting a bus already assigned to another route, on an emergency basis. Responding to that with "well, we don't have idle buses" is not responding to the original question.

[808.livejournal.com]

The OP quote is "why a different bus could not be diverted" so they do not mention whether it was laying in wait or whether it was actively on another route. The operator probably assumed, as I did, that the person meant a bus laying in wait as diverting a bus from an active route would be even worse than doing nothing.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily. There are often backups on the MBTA, and those (clearly) don't affect the number of buses on a given route. Net effect: first there are delays, then several buses of the same route number come through in rapid succession. We have had the technology to determine this ever since we've had the abacus, it just involves tracking information and making decisions based on it. These days, we already track buses with only seconds' lag. If there's a mechanical failure on an hourly route, and a four-of-the-same-bus situation on a nearby route, it's TRIVIAL to divert one of those buses with no perceptible negative effect for anyone.

[808.livejournal.com]

Maybe we are talking different things here. When I said "divert a bus on an active" route I mean a bus that has already left the station and been assigned a route. When I say "idle", I mean a bus that is sitting somewhere and has not been assigned a route.

When you talk of a "four-of-the-same-bus" situation you are talking of an extreme situation. In my 12 years in Boston I have seen that exactly twice. So, yeah, in that situation you can move routes. But even then it isn't "trivial". If the new route is not the same length (in time) as the original route, then you have screwed up all subsequent runs by that bus. You also have to distinguish which of the four buses is the one most outside of its schedule. Then you have to filter in the transit time from the other route to the new route. Add on to all of that the fact that this occurred on a Sunday morning, the least active time of the week. The chance of a four-bus pileup on Sunday morning is quote remote. My problem with Sunday mornings is having even a single bus show up. So, yeah, it can be done. But it isn't trivial and requires a distinct set of circumstances to make it worth while.

[veek.livejournal.com]

As you describe it, we're talking about the same thing.

Re: how often scheduling pile-ups happen, my experience (11 years out of the last 18) differs from yours. In addition, the original post specifically described such a situation.

As to triviality, I'm happy to disagree on this. When I said trivial, what I meant was: it is a fairly standard programming project; a reasonably competent programmer would find it a PITA but entirely doable.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I frequently see multiple bus back ups (3 to 4 coming a minute or two apart, or literally all lined up together), especially on the 77 route. Not on a Sunday that often, but definitely with enough frequency that i wouldn't call it rare or extreme.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

The bus that never came was at 5:08pm on Saturday.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

This was the 5:08pm bus on Saturday that never showed.

[squirrelitude]

I've certainly seen 3 in a row. It's not uncommon. This is due to the positive feedback loop caused by the nature of buses -- when a bus stops to pick people up, it is simultaneously delaying itself while creating less work (and therefore delay) for the next bus behind. Even if the buses leapfrogged, they'd still cluster like this.

Also, this is a PM bus, not an AM bus. Plenty of time for the schedule to go to hell. :-)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Wow. What an impressively strange thing to say. No, it's not my personal car service; if it were, I assure you I would not be waiting two or even one hour for it. If you read carefully, you might have noted that I spoke of the collective number of hours wasted waiting, not just my own.

Speaking of shit happening, have you perchance noticed that the environmental is going to hell in a hand bag and that automobiles are one of the reasons? I expect if there were reliable public transit, we could make a serious dent in that problem, no? Perhaps a few other problems as well?

How do I know it's true? I don't, though I don't know why this man would lie to me. I suppose, if I see him again, I can ask him if he still has the driver's number and I could see for myself, but I am not sure why I would except to satisfy your curiosity. Is this something you would like? You can check it out yourself if it pleases you.

Why mention it? Because I was mentioning some other problems with the T and I was curious if anyone else reading this had experienced this sort of thing in order to help me get a better grip on the situation. Is this a crime?

Quite demanding satisfaction? Ah, I see, I'm feeding a troll, Bon appetit, dear.

[smammy]

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that:) (lol:)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I am not sure how sincere you were about wanting to know if the tattoo story was true (or perhaps you didn't care? Confused there), but I suggest taking a look at Miraclaire's comment above. Does this change your mind, or do you relate more like Turil? Or do you feel differently in a way that has little in common with either?

[ron_newman]

This was unnecessarily rude. Take it to davis_snark.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I think Smammy redeemed hirself in the end by making me laugh. No complaints here:) (Thanks for looking out for me, though:)

[smammy]

Removed per your request.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Remember that the Davis Snark community is private, not public. You have to be granted permission to read and post these days. So it's not an option that you can just tell anyone.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

hm, i respect your tenacity in trying to get an actual answer (as opposed to the standard form response they usually try to fob off on people who make complaints).

if enough people made a stink over egregiously poor service, maybe something real would happen.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I am not sure that has always been true, or even if it is, but goodness, this would be the time to try to ride the wave of standing up to authority that says things have to be this way because that's just how they are.

About the salary

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite sure if you can find a database of pay of MBTA employees, but you can get an idea how much they get paid when they screw up. The bus driver that locked up the kids in the bus was suspended with pay with 88,000 a year salary. I believe that the bus driver that crashed the bus drunk in Somerville had a salary around 80k

http://www.universalhub.com/2011/mbta-bus-driver-suspended-doing-what-probably-ever

Re: About the salary

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you.

The first thing that occurred to me was why the bus driver didn't just tell the kids that the ones who wanted to get off had to come up (and thereby identify themselves) and verbally request off in order to get the ringing to stop, if it really was the kids--that way, she could ignore all the bells.

I am also confused why paid suspension is supposedly punitive; does it differ much from a paid vacation?

Moreover, I find it fascinating that a bus driver feels entitled to behave this way when *she* had to hurry because *she* had some place to be, while working for a system that seems content to waste many hours of time collectively and accept that as the best solution. Bit of a disconnect there--though it is far more than easy to see how folks dong this job are putting up with an awful lot of stress.

If they are doing their jobs, I don't begrudge them their salaries, regardless of the fact that the economy sucks for most everyone else; rather, I am annoyed that the economy sucks for everyone else. Being guaranteed such income, though, I expect they could do a better job of, well--*doing* their jobs, but they seem to either not care or just not think things can be done any better due to lack of resources or conditions that they feel powerless to change. If their incomes *depended* on dong their jobs completely, and at least *someone's* pocketbook was affected so that they had reasons beyond their control to suffer *themselves*, along with the folks stuck waiting if a bus skipped a route, I wonder how that would change things? Food for thought, at any rate.

If you feel like responding, I can handle the snark:)

Re: About the salary

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

As public union employee there is very little to do your job "better". You already are guaranteed high income, with most-of-us-could-dream-about benefits, and very little chance on getting fired. If there is a bonus element to your job, you're also going to get it unless you drive drunk or kidnap Menino's daughter. This is Massachusetts, you're not going to change the grip that unions have over the politicians and our pockets.